


Hanker Sore

by aquietdin



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Blood, Bloody Makeouts, Canon-Typical Violence, Fist Fights, Happy Ending, Jealousy, M/M, there's a lot of blood in this okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 08:31:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8279570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquietdin/pseuds/aquietdin
Summary: Hanker sore (adj): Finding a person so attractive it actually kinda pisses you off.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in one sitting without a beta, just had to get the idea out of my system.

The new transfer kid was hot.

It's not like it was hard to notice. The very first day he walked into class he'd had half the girls squirming in their chairs before he could even sit down. It was irritating. And yeah, okay. He had the kind of good looks you'd usually only see in fantasy movies or manga, tall as hell with these big pretty eyes and a hook nose that shouldn't look good on _anyone_ but he managed to pull it off. And grey hair. He had to dye it, there was no way that shit was natural.

Yosuke had figured he'd stand out in this one-horse town, he was a city boy, he dyed his hair and wore jewelry and wasn't a hick. But after the first few months he'd blended into the wallpaper, an ugly stain that people barely noticed and wrinkled their noses at when they did. But this guy - they worshiped this guy from minute one.

And the new kid has the nerve to smile at him. Yosuke bit his tongue, swallowed some air, and introduced himself.

After three weeks, Yosuke was beginning to think Yu wasn't all bad. Of course he wasn't, no one was (except maybe Morooka, but that guy was a walking cesspool), but Yu's smug ass face was still bothering Yosuke. Every day, every minute they talked. His eyes were always alert, never any dark circles, and his skin was always clear. The guy never even had a zit or a hangnail or a hair out of place. It was infuriating. Where did he get off being that attractive? Fuck him.

It was so much easier over phone or text, when Yosuke couldn't see his face and just _talk,_ talk to the guy who was inching closer to him whether he wanted him to or not. Yosuke could smile then, say 'partner' without flinching, bid him goodnight with a smile that wasn't forced or fake as hell. But then he'd see Yu at school, with his perfect hair and pretty mouth and Yosuke would have to curl his hand into a fist until his nails bit into his palm.

It was even worse when they went deeper into the TV World, into the places where the shadows would sneak up on them and swat Yosuke off the battlefield like a bug. But Yu would just use one of his ten million personas and take everything out. Without breaking a sweat. He was untouchable. Then he'd turn around and heal Yosuke, his Persona's spell shoving his organs back in his belly and sealing up the gashes in his skin where his blood was gushing onto the floor.

And when Yosuke was done puking his guts out and leaving a splatter of bloody vomit before him, Yu was there, offering a hand to help him up and a smile that was just so damn warm. He hated it.

When Rise joined the group, Yosuke almost destroyed his room, tearing her posters off his wall and into millions of pieces, smashing her CDs, and shoving them into a trash can and then kicking the can across the floor.

It was just so fucking unfair. She'd fallen for Yu within seconds and treated Yosuke like expired leftovers. Every chance he'd ever have with a girl was being stripped away by his best friend and it made Yosuke gnash his teeth and pull at his hair. There was a photo of their group on his desk, the Investigation Team, like they were some kind of new-age Japanese Scooby Doo troupe. Yu was in the back, taller than everyone save Kanji, giving that tiny little almost smile he did instead of any real facial expression. It made Yosuke want to ruin him, just punch him, give him a black eye or a bloody nose. Anything to muss up the perfection that made up 99% of Yu Narukami's existence.

Yosuke began to fantasize about it. In class, at lunch, stocking shelves at work: how much better Yu would look with a swollen jaw or a split lip. People weren't supposed to be that pretty, especially not guys. Yosuke just wanted to mess him up. Drag him through the mud with the rest of them, make him human. He wanted it so bad.

But friend's don't do that shit, right?

Right.

Friends also aren't supposed to enjoy the feeling of their knuckles against the other's cheekbone.

Yu's head snapped to his right, and Yosuke watched a bit of spittle fly from his mouth in slow motion. When he looked back, there was a red spot forming on his left cheek, his eyes wide and wild. A little thrill went down Yosuke's spine, just for a second, before the bridge of his nose exploded in pain.

Turns out Yu could give as good as he got.

But Yosuke wasn't a slouch. He could use his fists, he'd learned how in the city, and when he fought shadows he'd often punch with the knife still closed in his fist. Anything to survive. And that's what this felt like, survival, as he dodged well enough for Yu's fist to slam into his shoulder instead of his face. Yu was strong, but Yosuke was fast. He could keep up just fine, thank you very much, feeling the give of soft flesh just below Yu's ribs with his knuckles.

Yu backhanded him and Yosuke stumbled back, tripping on the rocks by the river. His face felt wet, he was sweating like crazy and the blood was leaking out of his most likely broken nose at a steady pace. When he turned back Yu was on him, one of his eyes bloodshot and darkening around the edges. He looked so fierce, like a feral dog, bearing down on Yosuke as a trickle of blood ran down from his temple.

He was so beautiful like that.

Yosuke's head bounced against the rocks as Yu tackled him, growling and snarling. Yosuke caught Yu's chin in his hand and pushed up, away, feeling the spit on his wrist as his best friend struggled against him. But he was still trapped, Yu's knees on either side of his chest and he was twisting the arm that Yosuke had under his jaw, freeing himself.

Flailing, cursing, spitting blood, Yosuke's wrists were pinned to the wet ground on either side of his head.

"Stop," Yu breathed, a bead of moisture rolling down his nose. "Enough."

So he did, letting himself go limp in his hold. Yu was shining with sweat and there was a smear of dirt on his chin and the left side of his mouth. There was blood on his jaw and cheek and ear, his left eye was squinting as the skin around it began to swell. Yu backed off him, rolling to the side to lean back on his hands.

Yosuke stared at the cloudy sky for a long while before hauling himself up, wiping his bloodied nose on his sleeve. He hurt all over, like hell, Yu had landed a kidney punch that he'd be feeling for days. He looked at his best friend, his pretty face fucked up in the nicest way, and leaned in to kiss him.

It wasn't a nice kiss. It was hard and it hurt. Yu tasted like blood and dirt and he smelled terrible, they both did, and maybe this was a terrible idea. Or Yosuke thought so until Yu's hands were grabbing his shirt, his hair, twisting and pulling and groaning into his mouth and thrusting his tongue like he was trying to fuck Yosuke's throat with it. Yosuke bit down hard on Yu's bottom lip, tasting more blood, the coppery tang that he didn't know he needed as badly as he did.

They broke apart and Yu's face was smeared with red, probably mostly from Yosuke's nose, some of it from the fresh bite on his mouth. He looked like shit, mud in his hair and the collar of his polo torn almost clean off, bruised and puffy with bloodied teeth and scraped the fuck up. _Finally, finally,_ Yosuke thought, _finally he's down here with me._

Coughing, Yosuke started to laugh. Yu joined him after a bit, and they laughed on the riverbank as little drips of blood painted the rocks. Yu went for his bag and pulled out a water bottle, letting Yosuke rinse the blood from his face and swish it out of his mouth. They washed their hands in the river, watching the water darken to red.

Before they left, Yu ducked his head and kissed Yosuke again, an actual kiss that was soft and kind. And Yosuke let him, even kissed back. This wasn't so bad. He could handle this. In a week they'd both be healed, Yu would be perfect again, beautiful and shining and ethereal. But Yosuke had seen him bleed and grunt and sweat and it was like a lock clicking open, bringing with it a gust of cool, fresh air. He leaned his forehead against his partner's and sighed a happy sigh as Yu squeezed his sore hand.

It was welcome, it was calm, it was enough.

 


End file.
